One Saturday, we decided with others exchange students to take our bike and go to Koitelinkoski situated at 24 kilometre from Oulu (we cyclied during 3 hours to go there). Koitelinkoski is an outdoor recreation area located along the Kiiminkijoki river in the Kiiminki district. This place is nicknamed “Rapids” and are about four kilometres from downtown Kiiminki. The area consists of a small islands dividing the free-flowing river into smaller streams and rapids. It’s a beautiful place for people who love nature, and visiting tourists. The Koiteli region is surrounded by rich vegetation, and its many islands provide excellent opportunities for fishing, canoeing and kayaking, and trekking. The Koitelinkoski rapids are an excellent fishing spot for the whole family. During the summer, it’s possible to take a guided canoe or Kayak tour along the river. On the other hand in the winter, we can exploring the area with ski or by snowmobile.

The larger islands are connected with a suspension bridges. We can find on the site a summer café “the Tunnelmatupa” on Sahasaari island and several campfire sites where we can prepare our food and enjoy some refreshments. We took the opportunity to burnt marshmallow ;)!

Audrey Brousseau

ESN (Erasmus student Network) organizes a lot of trips. I booked one of them: The Lofoten trip. Lofoten is a Norway archipelago, located well above the Arctic Circle. This jewel of nature offers landscapes that are difficult to forget. Breathtaking mountains, wonderful fjords and beautiful beaches are unforgettable memories. The schedule of the trip was varied: group excursion around the fjords and hiking, boat trip on Trollfjorden, two nights in cottages, frozen bath, visit of the cities and ice bar… This trip gave us an opportunity to meet new people and just enjoy being together. Strong ties of friendship were cultivated during this week. If you ever get a chance to do your Erasmus in Oulu, one advice: book for this magic trip.

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In 1664, the first space tourist was Francesco Negri, an Italian priest. Since, many people travelled to the North Cape to experience Europe’s northernmost point. Last week, it was my turn. From the top of the cliff, the view is fantastic. Nordkapphallen is a visitor center which propose different activities: The Nordkapp Panoramafilm presenting the Nordkapp region in four seasons, souvenirs shop and restaurant.

The six-hour hike to the Cape Knivskjellodden is one of my best experiences. The beauty of the landscape, cliff and the sight are largely worth to fair a turning there. Upon arriving on the Cap, we signed our names in the log book and took pictures. We did it, looking straight at the north pole!

Nordkapp is also one of the best place in the world to see Northern Light. One night, we took the car, and the sky was filled with stars and northern light. My head is full of memories.

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One of the most popular sport in Oulu is the ice hockey. The Kärpät Oulu (Oulu Stoats) is a Professional ice hockey club based in Oulu, Finland. The club was founded in 1946. Indeed, in the first annual meeting in January 1947, an ice hockey section was established. At the beginning of the new decade, Kärpät was somewhat successful in ice hockey and it became the main sport of the club.

The club has won so far the league five times, in 1981, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008. Kärpät have claimed the Finnish championship title seven times, and have been the most successful Finnish ice hockey team in the 2000s and 2010s.

I went on the Oulun Energia Areena to see a game of the champions hockey league with others Erasmus students. This areena can welcome more than 6500 peoples and the show was good. The game was the team of Oulu (Kärpät) vs Germany (Krefeld Pinguine). It was the first time for me, and I almost understood the rules. The ice hockey take place in 3 rounds. The teams can change players without stopping game and it’s made in an impressive speed. What it suprised me on this game, is the violence that players made against an other player on the plexiglas. A match lasts three periods of 20 minutes each, the clock being stopped in every stoppage time. Between two periods, a break takes place and one or several surfacers smooth the ice.

After this game, Oulun won the game with 5 points while the german team had only 3 points.

Audrey Brousseau

“Dust off your leg warmers and tease up your hair, because it’s time to party !!!”. When ESN announced it party, my friend and I went to the second hand shop to find the perfect 80s clothes. I found a funny jacket that you can see on the pictures. Everyone played the game, it was a great success and will remain a long and pleasant memory for all participants.

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Before to arrived in Oulu, we have to book a room in a shared apartment on april with Psoas website : rubric « housing application ». Psoas is an organization which propose lots of rooms in different residences for all students who are finnish or exchange student.

 

Moritz, German : Münster, 23 years old, 2nd year of Master in Accounting

Alexandra, German : Bamberg, 24 years old, 2nd year of Master Adult and Further Education

They manage student housing in Oulu and owns over 5,500 student apartments. Their mission is to offer usable apartments as cheaply as possible.

I was lucky to have a room with psoas, because price of accommodation in Oulu is very expensive. There are 2 principal residances where exchange student live. The first one is at Yliopistokatu near to the university (500 meters), and propose flats for 4 or 2 persons.

Sebastian, German : Regensburg, 25 years old, 2nd year of Master Information Technology

Michael, German : Munich, 29 years old, 2nd year of Master in Management

The second is at Tirolintie situated between the university (3.5 kms), the center (2.5 kms), and the beach. So it’s easy to move by bike. This residence is one of the best, because many events are organized there. There are 3 kinds of flat on each floor : 2 flats for 3 persons and 1 big flat for 7 peoples. Furthermore, residence offers several services like : gym, landry, sauna, and club room for prepare events. We can book for six washing machine/week and one sauna/week.

Carina, German : Munich, 24 years old, 2nd year of Master Industrial Engineering

Josef, Czech Republic : Kromeriz, 23 years old, 2nd year of Master Financial Markets and Investments

Personally I live in Tirolintie with 6 others peoples. I pay only 240€ for 17 square meters and I share living room, kitchen, two toilets and two bathrooms. That is a good plan ! It’s really interesting and important to share flat with others students because it allows to meet new people, improve his English, to have a cross-cultural exchange, and share moments together. With flatsharing, I met 6 peoples who are Alexandra, Moritz, Michael, Sebastian, Josef and Carina.

Audrey Brousseau

A Sitsit is a traditional student party in Finland and Sweden, but what kind of party is a sitsit? It is a very special dinner party with its own particular conventions, including drinking, singing and cheering. During this party every students have to respect the dress code: Gold diggers & sugar daddies. At the beginning, the “director” of the sitsit gives a little speech and announces the following song. After each melody, you have to chink glasses with your neighbors. People begin to eat in a warm and funny atmosphere. Some students played some sketch, it was very funny, but difficult to understand because it was in Finnish but I improved my skills in this language ! As the party went on, more and more songs were sang.

If you have the chance to visit Finland, you should participate in a sitsit.

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